Attraction

Wawel Cathedral, Krakow: tickets, hours and royal tombs

The coronation and burial church of Polish kings on Wawel Hill, with the Sigismund Chapel, the Sigismund Bell and the royal crypts. One ticket covers the cathedral, the bell, the tombs and two museums; the castle needs separate tickets.

Polish kings were crowned and buried in Wawel Cathedral, the church on Wawel Hill at Wawel 3. The cathedral and the Royal Castle are separate institutions with separate tickets: the cathedral ticket does not include the castle, whose tickets are sold at the Royal Castle ticket offices. For the castle itself, see our page on Wawel Castle.

What Wawel Cathedral is: coronations and royal burials

From Władysław Łokietek onwards, every Polish king was crowned here except Stanisław Leszczyński and Stanisław August Poniatowski. Łokietek was also the first king to be buried in the cathedral, and Sigismund I the Old and his successors lie in the crypts below. Since the funerals of Prince Józef Poniatowski (1817) and Tadeusz Kościuszko (1818) it has also served as a national pantheon. It remains a working parish church.

History of Wawel Cathedral

The first cathedral on Wawel was most probably built soon after the bishopric of Krakow was founded in 1000. A Romanesque cathedral was consecrated in 1142; St Leonard's Crypt and the lower part of the south tower survive from it. The present Gothic cathedral was built from 1320, the year Władysław Łokietek was crowned on 20 January, to 1364, when it was consecrated.

The cathedral was the centre of the cult of St Stanislaus, a bishop of Krakow murdered in 1079 on the orders of King Bolesław the Bold and canonised in 1253. Karol Wojtyła, later Pope John Paul II, said his first Mass in St Leonard's Crypt on 2 November 1946 and was consecrated bishop in the cathedral on 28 September 1958.

What to see inside Wawel Cathedral

The Sigismund Chapel: founded by King Sigismund I the Old, designed by Bartolomeo Berrecci and built by Italian sculptors in 1519-1533. The parish calls it the pearl of the Renaissance in Central Europe.
The Sigismund Bell: cast in Krakow in 1520 by Hans Behem, a bell-founder from Nuremberg, for Sigismund I; it first rang on 13 July 1521. The bronze bell alone weighs 9650 kg, and it hangs in the Sigismund Tower on an oak frame that does not touch the walls.
St Leonard's Crypt: the Romanesque crypt where, beside royal graves, Prince Józef Poniatowski, Tadeusz Kościuszko and General Władysław Sikorski are buried.
The Crypt of the National Poets and Piłsudski's tomb: the poets' crypt was created in 1890, when the remains of Adam Mickiewicz were brought from Paris; Juliusz Słowacki was laid beside him in 1927. In 1936 a mausoleum of Józef Piłsudski was created in the crypt under the Silver Bells Tower. Before it stands an urn with soil from Katyn, where the Soviet NKVD murdered Polish officers in 1940.
The John Paul II Cathedral Museum: in the Cathedral House by the Vasa Gate, opened by Cardinal Wojtyła on 28 September 1978, with regalia and objects of worship from royal, episcopal and noble foundations.

Wawel Cathedral tickets and opening hours

The ticket covers the cathedral, the Sigismund Bell, the Royal Tombs, the Cathedral Museum and the Archdiocesan Museum, which is off the hill, at ul. Kanonicza 19. A standard ticket costs 26 PLN and a reduced one 18 PLN; bought online with an audioguide, 41 PLN and 29 PLN. Groups of more than 10 people pay 23 PLN and 16 PLN, and children under 7 go in free. Reduced tickets are for children and school pupils, students up to 26 (Polish student card or ISIC), teachers (Polish card or ITIC), pensioners (Polish card, or aged 65 and over with ID), holders of the Polish Large Family Card and people with disabilities (Polish card or certificate). Tickets are sold at the cathedral ticket desk, from the machine (no reduced tickets) and online, through the shop linked from the cathedral's website.

Until the end of October 2026 the cathedral is open Monday to Saturday from 9:00 to 17:00 and on Sundays and holidays from 12:30 to 17:00. From 1 November 2026, in the winter season to the end of March, it is open Monday to Saturday from 9:00 to 16:00 and on Sundays and holidays from 12:30 to 16:00. Tickets are sold, and you can go in, until 30 minutes before closing (16:30 in summer, 15:30 in winter). The Cathedral Museum is closed on Sundays and holidays, the Archdiocesan Museum on Mondays. On 1 November 2026 (a Sunday) the cathedral, the tombs, the bell and the ticket desks open from 12:30 to 15:30, and both museums are closed. The cathedral is closed to visitors on Good Friday, Holy Saturday, Easter Sunday and 24 and 25 December; in Holy Week and during celebrations the hours change, and the parish may also close the Sigismund Tower and the Royal Tombs from time to time. Details checked in October 2026; changes are announced on the Events page of the Wawel Cathedral website.

Getting to Wawel Cathedral on foot

The cathedral is about 14 minutes' walk from the Main Market Square. Our Old Town electric cart tour runs from the Main Market Square to the foot of Wawel Hill, where you see the cathedral from outside; the ride does not include entry.

Wawel Cathedral dress code, photos and visiting rules

Keep quiet, silence your phone and cover your shoulders and back; men take off their hats. There is no sightseeing during services, and no eating, drinking, chewing gum, smoking or phone calls. Since 18 April 2026 amateur photos and films for your own use are allowed, without flash, tripod, selfie stick or gimbal and with no right to publish them; you may not photograph people praying, take selfies or take group photos. The audioguide comes in 11 languages, English among them; bought separately it costs 15 PLN (11 PLN reduced), against a deposit. If you are planning a whole day on the hill, read our visitor guide to Wawel Castle.

Wawel Cathedral: frequently asked questions

Is Wawel Cathedral free to enter?

No, visitors need a ticket (26 PLN, or 18 PLN reduced). Under the cathedral's rules, children below the age of 7 do not pay.

How long does a visit to Wawel Cathedral take?

With the audioguide the parish allows about 40 minutes for the cathedral and the bell, about 10 for the Royal Tombs and about 20 for the Cathedral Museum.